JOIN USMODERATION It’s not really cool be a foodie, if it entails mindless bingeing. Bharat & Shalan Savur show you the way out of that binge trap.
It’s amazing how easy it is to binge on fat-gaining foods, but not on fat-burning exercises. Know that there is life after a binge. The secret of shedding weight is to focus on what you can do now rather than what you should not have done then. Here, the key is to change your inner demand from food to fitness. You are the only power that can keep you in the food-rut or sweep you on to the fitness track. An inner demand is to move beyond the binge – the hangover, bloated, sick feeling, throbbing head. A low point in life can become the turning point, if you so will.
In inevitable times, where bingeing is unavoidable, stick to some ground rules. For instance, at a party, opt for cucumbers and carrots over peanuts and cheeslings, grilled mushrooms over fried bhajiyas. If you’ve binged on booze and the next morning, feel like a limp, lethargic lump, be your own best friend rather than a guilt-ridden fiend. Don’t head to the gym in the morning. Give your body time to recover. Drink water, coffee, eat a cool, raw salad, chew sugar-free mint balls to feel freshness explode in your head. Relax.
At 3 pm, when you’re feeling better, get on the stationary cycle and rev up your blood circulation. You’ll burn fat and keep the momentum going when the
motivation is on the ebb.
At a sweet binge, share rather than gorge – it fosters camaraderie and halves calories. Here, it’s important to know that when you eat sweets, the pancreas shoot insulin into your bloodstream to deal with the sugar. Now, as long as the insulin remains in the bloodstream, the body cannot metabolise fat. It is estimated that the insulin stays for about four hours. So, please don’t eat any fat for four hours after a sweet. And, yes, do extra fat-burning
cardio for four days – one hour cycling in place of half hour.
After a salt binge, drink three litres of water to flush out the excess salt. Water retention – caused by excess sodium in our system – is neither a pretty sight nor a pretty feeling. Eat a normal meal the next day, but don’t sprinkle extra salt on your portions. Prefer salads without salt.
The ultimate way out of the binge trap is to be highly conscious. Unconscious
patterns are set by oft-repeated phrases that define you: “I’m a foodie. I have a sweet tooth. I love salty foods and booze.” How long are you going to walk in the shadow of these thoughts? So snap and out of the bubble and think healthier.